Change your looks, but never your mind
by Roses For The Kind
Summary: It's been 3 years after the scene on Nabiki Beach. Kate and Keith are finally reunited, but when the bad memories pour back in, what will Kate do? Will all these feelings distract her from the new mission at hand? Or bring the pair back together?ON HIATUS


**YAY! SEQUEL TIME~ This is a sequel to 'Give it an Hour or _Less_.' Enjoy!**

**P.S. Yeah, it's easier to listen to 'Just Be Friends' by Luka Megurine on YouTube while reading part of this chapter. To listen to the song, simply type _Just be Friends Luka Megurine rockleetist _in the YouTube search engine. The original song is Japanese, but there's this dubber that I LOVE. So, if you have an account, subscribe to her!~  
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**DISCLAIMER: Vocaloid + Me = NOT MINE.**

**DISCLAIMER: Pokemon + Me = NOT MINE.**

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Keith's POV

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It's been 3 years since the Nabiki Beach incident. Being 20 years old hasn't been more crappy.

"Hey, Keith, you coming or what?" Sven asked impatiently. We were going out for my birthday, to some place in Pueltown.

"Yeah. Hold on." I checked my styler. _No call from her... _I jumped on my captured Starraptor and we flew off.

Amazingly, Rhythmi, Isaac and Kellyn still my friends. Rhythmi yelled at me for half an hour, Isaac gave me a 3 hour lecture on 'How to treat a girl' and Kellyn... Well, he beat the crap out of me.

"Man, Keith is going to love his birthday present!" I heard Rhythmi whisper rather loudly to Kellyn as we flew over the Norward Bridge.

"I can _hear _you, Rhyth!" I yelled. She smiled sheepishly and tightened her grip around Kellyn's waist. Speaking of which, they ended up together. Isaac was sort of upset, but it's not like I could blame him. Rhythmi was prettier than Linda and Wendy, but not as beautiful as Kate. I see her on the news all the time, but I never see her in person... I want to, but she hates me... You'd think being a Top Ranger would give you the opportunity to talk to a person. Guess not.

"Land in front of the Ranger Depot, guys!" Wendy yelled as she descended. Sven, Kellyn and I followed her lead and landed.

"So, what restaurant are we going to?" Rhythmi asked as she looped her arm through Kellyn's.

"Some place called JBF." Sven answered as he wrapped his arm around Wendy's waist. I looked at Kellyn and Rhythmi, who were both blushing lightly as they walked side by side. Then I glanced at Sven and Wendy who were laughing together at a joke Sven probably told. I couldn't help but feel left out when everyone was paired up. It wasn't _just _the HQ. It was in Vientown, too. Luana and Crawford. Elaine and Ollie. Being single sucked. And, you're probably thinking, 'What happened to Dawn?'. I dumped her 2 days after the incident.

"There it is! JBF." Wendy announced happily and dragged Sven inside. I followed them, Kellyn and Rhythmi trailing behind me.

"No way! Wendy!?" I knew that voice. _That _voice said _she_ hated me. _Her _voice said _she_ hated me. _She _said _she_ hated me.

Kate.

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**Kate's POV**

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It felt great being with everyone. Sure, I was a Top Ranger, but I was stationed in Boyleland. Rhythmi, my best friend. Kellyn, the best big brother anyone could have. Isaac, the smartest guy I know. Sven, the funniest person on Earth. Wendy, my mentor in being a ranger. Then... there was Keith. The guy who made out with my enemy. You'd be amazed at the many tries that I took to get over Keith. Crawford... Ollie... Murph (unbelievably) Lunick... But then there was one guy I regret going out with... _Ice. _

"Hey, Kate." Keith greeted sheepishly as he walked over. His hair was still the same, in it's crazy style. He had such an athletic build and he had gotten so much taller, too. His voice deepened slightly, but he still had those cute dimples I loved.

"Hi, Keith. Long time no see." I gave him a small smile and then a quick hug. He wasn't the only one who changed, though. I changed plenty. I've grown my hair out, so now it's down to the end of my back. I think I've grown a couple of inches, but I've lost all my baby fat and for once, I feel confident about the way I look... The spoinktails I had 3 years ago were to show that I was still a girl. My tomboy-ish attitude would've confused somebody if I didn't have my hair that way.

"Yeah... Long time no see... How's Boyleland?" He asked as he scratched the back of his neck.

"Pretty good... Nothing to report... Just quests and all... No major missions..." I replied, nodding slowly at everything I said.

"H-Hey, um... you want to dance?" He looked at me nervously. "Sure... Why not?" I replied in the same nervous tone he had. We stepped on to the dance-floor and we started dancing.

_Just be friends. All we gotta do, just be friends._

We looked at each other slightly as we continued to dance. I put my arms around his neck and he placed his hands on my hips.

_It's time to say good-bye, just be friends. All we gotta do, just be friends, just be friends. Just be friends._

Boy, was this awkward. The song, 'Just Be Friends' by Vocaloid Luka Megurine was on. How... nice... That is, until all of the memories poured back in. My eyes closed slowly and it all began to come back to me...

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_Early morning yesterday, it finally occured to me. Just like a puzzle where I had placed every single piece._

I remembered the next morning after the Nabiki Beach incident. I found myself at my house in Chicole Village... The smell of home... Mom's stew... I couldn't stand the feeling of heartbreak. The pain that burned through my skin... All the tears and thoughts that flooded my mind... I just couldn't stand it.

I regret ever saying those words to Keith. Saying that I hated him was untrue, but I as angry. Extremely angry.

One by one, my family members came up and into my room to try and comfort me... All with different tactics. Dad's stories about 'back in the day...' and 'when I was a kid...'. Mom's 'there was this one boyfriend I had...'. Little Sis' 'Kate, Mr. Huggles says Keith is a bad boy!'. And then Kellyn's 'everything will be okay.'. I appreciate the effort, but it just couldn't cure my heartbreak.

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_And now I don't know what to do, now that I see where we're both moving to. Is this the point in time where we'd both prayed and hope we'd be?_

Was I supposed to quit being a Top Ranger? Just because everytime I saw Keith, my heart would ache? What was I supposed to do?

I remember Barlow asking me if I wanted to be stationed somewhere else in the region. I agreed, of course. My heart couldn't take anymore pain. He said Boyeland was looking for a Ranger, and housing would be provided by the Village Elder. Without another sentence to be said, I was sent off to Boyleland. I heard Barlow say it could be a fresh, new start. A clean slate. I thought of it as a hiding spot from the one I loved most.

_Keith.

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_Somehow I knew that from the deepest reaches of my heart, the hardest choice would be the choice that tears us both apart._

Leaving for Boyleland was hard, but delivering the Almia Times was harder. Almost everyday, I would see headlines about Keith. _'Almia's Finest; 100,000 Captures!' _or _'Fiore's Trainee; Now a Trainer?' _Can you imagine, seeing headlines of the person who broke your heart in the paper? It crushed me even more. Because of this, I tried harder to get my mojo back. Not those easy captures throughout the region. I was talking about the Capture Arena.

But, unfortunately, that too did not distract me from the pain lurking inside of me. Once I got there, I sped through the captures, claiming the top of the high scores board in the lobby. Everyone came to congratulate me, including Keith. No eye-contact was made, no talks were started, but a heart remained hurt.

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_And now I know I can't ignore, all th_e_ feelings that I've felt before. I wonder why I never tried to tell you from the start._

I couldn't ignore all the feelings built up inside of me. A year after the whole thing, and it replays over and over in my head, every single day. Now, our run-ins were more frequent. Lavana kept on stirring up trouble in the Boyleland Volcano, so the Union always sent backup to help me. Most of the time it was Keith, and despite the many hours we spent together, I never told him how I felt. How what I said was a lie. That I still loved him. But nothing came out of my mouth. If I told him from the beginning of this situation, then... he would still be mine...

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"Kate? Are you okay?"

I snapped back to reality. My eyes opened quickly, to see Keith, staring at me in concern.

"Yeah... My mind is just..." He smiled at me, happy to see that I was fine.

"Maybe we should go sit down...." Keith suggested, as he pointed to two bar stools and a high table in the back corner of the restaurant. I nodded and followed his lead. We both sat down and looked around.

Rhythmi and Kellyn were dancing together, her head buried in his chest and his arms wrapped protectively around her. Sven and Wendy were playing footsies at the bar area, both smiling. I envied both couples, because they were happy. I may sound selfish, but I just want to be with someone.

All of a sudden, my Styler and Keith's rang simultaneously.

"Voicemail! Voicemail! Linda here. Keith, Kate, can you guys hear me?"

"Yeah, Linda. Loud and clear." Keith said into his Styler microphone.

"What's up?" I added.

"Mrs. Winters and Pamur called in, reporting damage to the Almia Castle."

We both looked at each other. "And?"

"Since all of our Top Rangers were out on their nights off, we requested that the Vientown Area Rangers step in and see what's the matter."

I sighed heavily and glanced at Keith who was scratching the back of his neck furiously.

"Have you gotten a report from them?" Keith asked, worried.

"No. That's where you two come in. Mind checking up on the Vientown Rangers?" Linda questioned.

We glanced at each other and both nodded. "Sure, why not?" I answered.

"Thanks, guys. Head on over now. If you get tired, Pamur said he'd be happy to let you guys sleep at the Shiver Camp."

"Got it. Bye, Linda." Keith ended the voicemail and stood up. "Ready, Kate?"

I nodded at followed him out of the restaurant.

"Capture, on!" He shot out his Capture Disc and began to capture two Starraptors. When his Styler let out a beeping sound, Keith hopped on to a Starraptor and motioned for me to get on the other one.

"Time for another adventure, eh, Kate?" He asked me as we flew off.

"Yeah."

_Here in this world of ours that's slowly falling all around us, we're trying to move on, but it's the best we can do. Our happiness fading and smiles evading, the truth within the lie.

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**YAY! CHAPTER IS DONE!~**

**I hope you guys listened to me and did the whole YouTube thing. XP**

**I guess I'll try to fit in a song every chapter now, and maybe this story will end in... 5 more chapters?**

**I dunno. Maybe more, maybe less. Hey, did anyone notice that JBF stands for 'Just Be Friends'? XD Oooh... It's a message....  
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**Review, please!**

**_-'R'_  
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